diff --git a/CHANGELOG.txt b/CHANGELOG.txt
index 8fe6dba7a..1439120a1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.txt
+++ b/CHANGELOG.txt
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Changelog
  * Multiple ChooserBlocks inside a StreamField are now prefetched in bulk, for improved performance (Michael van Tellingen, Roel Bruggink, Matt Westcott)
  * Add new EmailBlock and IntegerBlock (Oktay Altay)
  * Added a new FloatBlock, DecimalBlock and a RegexBlock (Oktay Altay, Andy Babic)
+ * Wagtail version number is now shown on the settings menu (Chris Rogers)
  * Fix: Email templates and document uploader now support custom `STATICFILES_STORAGE` (Jonny Scholes)
  * Fix: Removed alignment options (deprecated in HTML and not rendered by Wagtail) from `TableBlock` context menu (Moritz Pfeiffer)
  * Fix: Fixed incorrect CSS path on ModelAdmin's "choose a parent page" view
diff --git a/docs/releases/1.6.rst b/docs/releases/1.6.rst
index a36f86ffc..0d39b548f 100644
--- a/docs/releases/1.6.rst
+++ b/docs/releases/1.6.rst
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ Minor features
  * The wagtailimages.Filter model has been removed, and converted to a Python class instead (Gagaro)
  * Multiple ChooserBlocks inside a StreamField are now prefetched in bulk, for improved performance (Michael van Tellingen, Roel Bruggink, Matt Westcott)
  * Added new EmailBlock and IntegerBlock (Oktay Altay)
+ * Wagtail version number is now shown on the settings menu (Chris Rogers)
 
 
 Bug fixes
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static_src/wagtailadmin/scss/components/_main-nav.scss b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static_src/wagtailadmin/scss/components/_main-nav.scss
index 46e5006d5..d0ed11606 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static_src/wagtailadmin/scss/components/_main-nav.scss
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/static_src/wagtailadmin/scss/components/_main-nav.scss
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ $submenu-color: darken($color-grey-1, 5%);
     height: 100%;
     min-height: 800px;
     background: $color-grey-1;
-    
+
     .inner {
         background: $color-grey-1;
     }
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ $submenu-color: darken($color-grey-1, 5%);
     overflow: auto;
     width: 100%;
 
-    ul, 
+    ul,
     li {
         margin: 0;
         padding: 0;
@@ -136,6 +136,11 @@ $submenu-color: darken($color-grey-1, 5%);
     li {
         border: 0;
     }
+
+    .wagtail-version {
+        padding: 1.2em 1.7em;
+        text-align: center;
+    }
 }
 
 .explorer {
@@ -153,7 +158,7 @@ $submenu-color: darken($color-grey-1, 5%);
         @include visuallyhidden();
     }
 
-    input, 
+    input,
     button {
         border-radius: 0;
         font-size: 1em;
@@ -171,7 +176,7 @@ $submenu-color: darken($color-grey-1, 5%);
             background-color: darken($color-grey-2, 10%);
         }
 
-        &:active, 
+        &:active,
         &:focus {
             background-color: darken($color-grey-2, 5%);
             color: $color-white;
@@ -358,6 +363,7 @@ body.explorer-open {
                 opacity: 0.15;
             }
         }
+
     }
 
     li.submenu-active {
@@ -434,7 +440,7 @@ body.explorer-open {
 }
 
 // Media query hacks to detect IE10+ which doesn't support 3d transform of static elements and needs a fallback
-@media all and (-ms-high-contrast: none), 
+@media all and (-ms-high-contrast: none),
        all and (-ms-high-contrast: active) {
     .wrapper {
         @include transition(left 0.2s ease);
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_settings_menu_item.html b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_settings_menu_item.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fba4b2f70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_settings_menu_item.html
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{% extends "wagtailadmin/shared/menu_submenu_item.html" %}
+{% load wagtailcore_tags %}
+
+{% block menu_footer %}
+    <li class="footer">
+        <div class="menu-item"><p class="wagtail-version">Wagtail v.{% wagtail_version %}</p></div>
+    </li>
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_submenu_item.html b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_submenu_item.html
index 566ceed38..49c720890 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_submenu_item.html
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/shared/menu_submenu_item.html
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
     <a href="#" class="submenu-trigger {{ classnames }}"{{ attr_string }}>{{ label }}</a>
     <div class="nav-submenu">
         <h2 class="{{ classnames }}">{{ label }}</h2>
-        <ul>{{ menu_html }}</ul>
+        <ul>{{ menu_html }}
+            {% block menu_footer %}{% endblock %}
+        </ul>
     </div>
 </li>
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/wagtail_hooks.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/wagtail_hooks.py
index 3e2e4c0bd..45d6b4024 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/wagtail_hooks.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/wagtail_hooks.py
@@ -28,9 +28,13 @@ def register_explorer_menu_item():
         order=100)
 
 
+class SettingsMenuItem(SubmenuMenuItem):
+    template = 'wagtailadmin/shared/menu_settings_menu_item.html'
+
+
 @hooks.register('register_admin_menu_item')
 def register_settings_menu():
-    return SubmenuMenuItem(
+    return SettingsMenuItem(
         _('Settings'), settings_menu, classnames='icon icon-cogs', order=10000)